Greenpeace launches "Make Smthng Week" in response to Black Friday

Greenpeace has launched an international campaign across 5 continents to counter the high level of consumerism that surrounds Black Friday and Christmas.

Called ‘Make Smthng Week’, the campaign invites people to create their own products as a way of taking a stand against the global wave of holiday shopping. 85 events will take place from December 2-10 in cities like Berlin, Hong Kong, London, Madrid, Rome, Taipei and Buenos Aires as part of the initiative.

“Black Friday has become one of the major peaks of consumerism. This shopping binge also generates greater volumes of waste than ever. This dangerous trend is harming our planet. We buy without thinking for a minute, but the waste we create will sometimes last for centuries,” said Chiara Campione, the global project leader of Make Smthng Week.

“We have been tricked into thinking happiness comes from what we buy, when we know that true happiness comes from what we can create. Making fantastic creations out of things that we already own is much more fun, creative and social than buying stuff.”

The events will teach people how to repair, upcycle, share, DIY and reuse products, and promote zero waste and plastic-free life in fashion, home décor and more.

Fashion Revolution, the not-for-profit movement behind the #whomademyclothes campaign, will be participating in Make Smthng Week as a partner. Upcycling designer and founder Orsola de Castro said: “It is incredibly exciting to join forces with Greenpeace for Make Smthng Week. Reintroducing creativity, crafts and emotions in our relationship with clothes is a brilliant way to take action. We are producing over 100 billion garments per year, and wearing just a fraction of that. How much more stuff do we need? Time to care for the things we already own.”

The programme of workshops and talks will be run by hundreds of fashion and product designers, artists, chefs, upcyclers, models and zero waste activists.